Karena Walter, QMI Agency

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — A St. Catharines, Ont., man apologized before being sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in jail on his fourth conviction for sexually abusing a child.

Norman Warner, 55, will receive pre-trial custody credited as time and a half. He will have to serve nearly another six months behind bars.

He pleaded guilty July 3 to one count of sexual exploitation involving a boy. The boy was five years old when he told a family member he had been touched by Warner in a sexual manner.

"I'm very sorry for everything," Warner told Judge David Harris from the prisoner's box.

He was previously sentenced Jan. 18, 2013, to 18 months in jail in addition to 139 days of time served for sexual interference. That case involved an eight-year-old girl who lived in his high-rise apartment.

At that time, court heard Warner had similar convictions from 1993 for sexual touching and two counts of sexual assault and 2001 for sexual assault, involving victims ages six to 12.

Harris told the Crown would have sought a longer sentence, but the charge involving the boy was stayed in January 2013 when Warner was sentenced for the incident involving the girl. It was brought back into the courts when more evidence came forward.